DECEMBER 2014
Wednesday 2014.12.31
Another Year Comes to an End
At the end of each year I typically use this blog to reflect on the past 12 months of this web site, and ponder a little about the future.
2014 was less productive than the year preceding it. Although I had the opportunity to assembled another 45 Mobile Home Gourmet shows for the local TV station, I didn't have the content. Editing shows to always be between 28 and 30 minutes in length is a challenge. What if a video is only 24 minutes long? Shoot additional cutaways? I've done that. Combine two shows and shorten them to fit in the time frame? I've done that too. It's a lot of work. I don't receive any payment for my efforts; so I decided to take an indefinite break from TV shows.
During 2014 I assembled fewer videos than in the past when I was able to produce, on average, a video each week. Every Sunday I would upload the latest video to YouTube and feature it, along with the recipe, on my web site. This year there was the debacle over Google/YouTube's insistence on having my private phone number before they would certify me for uploads. And then there was simply a decline in interest. Partly it was due to my not wanting to keep funding the projects at a financial loss. Party it was because of external factors I could not control — such as my neighbor's dogs barking for 30 minutes at a time, all day long, making it impossible to shoot a video in my home. I do not have the luxury of a TV studio.
Amusingly, one of the creators of a cooking show on the same TV channel is hosting a dinner party to test some of her newest recipes before making videos. She has millions of views on YouTube and tens of thousands of subscribers. I've seen her show. "Open a can of this and a jar of that." Nothing fresh. Nothing original. I have the option to sign up to attend her dinner party, but I can't make myself do it.
Not everything about 2014, of course, was negative. I achieved one important goal in my life. I finally published a cookbook of my recipes. It's available in EPUB format free on this web site. If you have a tablet with an e-reader app that supports EPUB, you can view my book on your tablet. That's how I often use it when cooking in my kitchen. There is a green "Free Cookbook" button on the left-hand panel. The cookbook really is free. There are no hoops to jump through. You won't need to register an email address that might be used to spam you. Nothing. Just click the button and then start the download.
I also saw a few important and expensive projects completed. At the beginning of 2014 I worked with a licensed contractor to have a new storage shed built outside my home. With all the new storage space, working in my kitchen is more pleasant. I don't need to dig down through layers of items to find the one utensil I need. Small kitchen appliances that I seldom use are now out in the shed. I love that shed.
Another home-improvement project was done during the week of Thanksgiving in November. I contracted with a plumbing company to replace all the old rotting galvanized pipe with all new copper pipe. I have no regrets. The water pressure is good. There are no leaks. And I will never need to worry about the pipes breaking again. They will outlast me.
Looking Forward
In all likelihood, 2015 will be the final year of this web site. Grab what you can. I began this web site more than four years ago with the hope that it would eventually pay for itself, either with advertising or paid videos. I estimate I sunk more than $20,000 into this project. I've recovered a little more than $1,000. Pastimes and hobbies can be expensive. I accept that, and the pleasure is often worth the cost. However, if the pleasure goes away, then what?
Other pastimes await me. During the past few weeks I joined a discussion group in which I can finally talk politics again. For many years I enjoyed a discussion group when I had a job. We met every week, often several times a week, to talk. The local Asian restaurant always gave us free beverages with out meals — a benefit no other customers enjoyed. When the owner saw us enter the restaurant he'd change the TV channel from sports to CNN because we often sat watching the news and commenting on it. Ours was a lively group and it doubled in size over time because of our popularity — more money for the restaurant.
When I retired, that discussion group faded. I wasn't the backbone that held it together. Other factors contributed to the demise. As one example: I wasn't the only person in the group to retire.
Now that I have a new discussion group, I am focusing on my reading again. I love to read. I am therefore reviving the alternative pastime I mentioned in last Wednesday's blog — converting my older ebooks from the Palm format to EPUB to read on my Nook Color tablet. I have a rather large library. Since buying my Nook I converted more than 100 ebooks to EPUB, all of which I've read. There are probably at least that many more to do.
And as for the video countertop I left at a kitchen counter shop to be covered with Corian — still no word from the owner.
Sunday 2014.12.28
One of the Better Christmas Times
I really enjoyed this Christmas. It was a pleasant and relaxed holiday. As promised, I took myself out to dinner for Chinese buffet. No Christmas turkey or goose (a goose in the local grocery store was priced at $85!), no stuffing, no gravy, no mashed potatoes, no green bean casserole with fried onions on top, and no pumpkin pie. I missed the pie. Best of all, no cooking. Often I am invited to help with holiday food preparations. This year I successfully avoided such entanglements and kept myself out of the kitchen. I didn't even make my traditional Chex Mix snacks. I did bake some cookies, but that was the extent of it.
We didn't have any snow. This is, after all, Southern California. We did enjoy some unusually cold weather, especially at night. There were a couple of nights when the temperature dropped down to the mid to lower 30s — cold enough for frost warnings in some areas. Hardly noteworthy to many parts of the Northern Hemisphere, but certainly cold by SoCal standards. This is a land of palm trees and sunshine. I like to say we have only two seasons here: Summer and sort of summer.
As mentioned in Wednesday's blog, I made plans to attend yet another social group. We met yesterday afternoon at a coffee shop and there were, blissfully, only four of us. I get uncomfortable in large crowds (although I have an extension to expand my dining room table to seat six, I keep it hidden — three for dinner is more than enough). We met for two hours, with the plan to discuss anything we like from current world events. I always have a lot on my mind because I spend a lot of time watching three hours of news each evening.
This time, thankfully, I found a group that is more my style of gathering. These are informed and intelligent people who not only pay attention to world events, they think about them too. I was very pleased, also, that they share my political and social philosophy. At one point I was asked how I would describe Fox News. I told them that Keith Olbermann characterized it best as "Fox Noise." With that, I earned my place among the enlightened.
Sony Pictures' release of The Interview was high on the agenda among topics for discussion. I was asked for my point of view. I told them that I thought Sony's first mistake was green-lighting the project in the first place. Kim Jong-un is, after all, a head of state and I thought it might be in poor taste to write a comedy about assassinating him. "How would we feel if someone filmed a comedy about Obama's daughters being kidnaped by ISIS and sold as wives?" There are some subjects too taboo to write about as comedy. South Park's treatment of Kim Jong-il in Team America: World Police is funny enough without seeing the guy murdered.
We meet again in two weeks and the moderator asked us to take notes while watching or reading the news. I love to read (I am currently reading Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis). Until now, I haven't had much reason to read political books; so I've entertained myself with novels and literature. I am happy that I have Conservatives Without Conscience by John Dean on my Nook Color tablet. During the Bush/Chaney administration I read Dean's book Broken Government (along with many other books about the government). I had a group of friends that often met over lunch to discuss politics. That group no longer meets and I have therefore had no one with whom to discuss political developments. In the next two weeks I'll read Conservatives Without Conscience.
The Continuing Saga of the Video Kitchen Countertop
As for the kitchen counterop I use when making cooking videos: It's still in the shop. No word from the owner and I haven't driven there to ask about it. I'll wait until after the holidays.
Wednesday 2014.12.24
Other Pastimes
I've been thinking about one of my favorite pastimes, reading, because this week I joined a discussion group that will meet on Saturday. I tried similar groups in the past, most of which were either dating pickup opportunities or group therapy sessions. Undaunted, I am trying yet another one.
This group is supposedly for enlightened, informed persons who read the news and therefore know a thing or two about what's going on. I don't read the newspapers. Every evening I start by watching the financial news (I don't have stocks, but the program tells me how the USA and global economies are doing), followed by France 24 (a news program in English broadcast from Paris) then DW Journal (English from Germany), and then BBC America (Washington). The financial news is re-broadcast, which is then followed by BBC World News (London). By then I'm fairly well saturated with news; so I don't watch the Asian news that comes out of Tokyo.
If I read any news at all, I peruse Google News for stories that might catch my curiosity. For example, on Monday in the Health News section there was an article about how reading books on lighted tablets (my Nook tablet was mentioned) can disrupt sleep and compromise health. Really? I've been reading books on my Nook at bedtime for years. Supposedly paper books are better because tablets emit a blue light that inhibits the body's natural production of melatonin, a sleep hormone. I'm willing to experiment. I've been printing the chapter or two I plan to read in bed each evening. It's too early to know if I'm healthier as a result. I can report that the first evening I tried reading printed paper I was unable to fall asleep until well after midnight.
I suspect the study on which the article was based might be flawed. Did it take into account the body's ability to adapt? Suddenly putting tablets in front of people at bedtime and then observing their sleep pattern might tell us more about how the tablets affect sleep when we begin to use them. If they become a part of our habitual evening routine over many months, the body might adapt comfortably and produce melatonin normally. Disrupting that habitual routine, as I did by suddenly switching to paper, might be more damaging to sleep patterns. The change in habit, not blue light, might be the culprit. But what do I know?
I used to read books on my Palm Tungsten PDA organizer. I learned the Palm Markup Language so that I could format books for my PDA. I had a little program, Drop Book, on my computer. If formatted correctly, Drop Book would encode the text into PDB format for the Palm. I could then read my books anywhere, even at work.
And this takes me to another pastime: Converting books to ebooks. Many of my older books are in PDB format, which is not supported by my Nook. It uses the common EPUB format, the same format I use for my free cookbook.
So while I am unable to cook (because that countertop (see earlier blogs) is still in the shop), I am using my available time to convert some of my older books to EPUB.
And this being Christmas week, I am reading Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, as has been my tradition for many years. I've read it so many times, I practically have long passages memorized. If that weren't enough, I'm also reading Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis. I've seen the Rosalind Russell film several times. I figured it was time to read the book. (I like the movie better.)
Tomorrow, being Christmas Day, I will eat lunch or dinner at a Chinese restaurant that I know will be open during the holiday. Later today I'll bake more Christmas cookies and give them to the staff at the restaurant.
I wish you all a very happy holiday season.
Sunday 2014.12.21
No Kitchen Countertop Yet
The countertop I blogged about on Wednesday is still in the shop. I drove by the shop on Thursday, after having lunch with a friend, hoping to see my countertop almost ready for me. He hadn't started on it yet. An order came in and the owner moved that one ahead of mine. It's natural and to be expected. He won't make much of a profit, if any at all, on my job. He needs to give priority to the better paying projects.
We did come to terms on a price. He suggested $150, although I could see he wasn't enthusiastic about it. At $150 I can buy a sheet of Formica and do the job myself. I already have contact cement. I've done laminate work before. I don't have a router, which would make the job easy. Instead, I have to do the finishing work mostly by hand, which would take all day. However, I could have my counter ready to use in one day rather than waiting a week, maybe longer, for the shop to do it.
To be honest, this might just be a blessing in disguise. That counter might be the final coffin nail I've been looking for to put this whole occupation to rest indefinitely. For nearly a year I've been agonizing over what to do about this pastime of mine. I've been throwing money at it for more than four years. I've tried a few endeavors to make it pay for itself. And now I'm looking at spending another $150 to fix up the countertop. Maybe I've reached the enough-is-enough stage. Wishful thinking? I wonder. And why?
A couple days ago I sat down with a friend to discuss the issue. Maybe my cooking videos are only good enough to be free. Maybe my content has no monetary value whatsoever. They cost me money — I buy the food ingredients. I put several hours into each one. If they are worth zero dollars and cost $20 to $30 each to produce, how much longer can I continue to hemorrhage money?
I'm paid through 2015 for my web site hosting service. It expires December 31st of next year. I think that will be the ultimate deadline (if not sooner). By then I will have given this activity more than five years to turn a profit. If it doesn't start paying for itself after one more year, I'll pack it in and say, "Thanks for the memories."
Meanwhile, I will leave the countertop at the shop and I won't call the owner or drive there again. He can take as long as he wants. I have enough finished projects in the vault to carry me through January and into February. If I still don't have the counter back in my possession, finished and ready to use, by the time the projects run out, then I'll walk away. I'll devote the remainder of 2015 to cleaning up — deleting videos from YouTube and finding a place to store all my archived backup files. If the countertop does come back, beautifully covered in new Corian, then maybe it will breathe new life into this pastime of mine. Time will tell.
Wednesday 2014.12.17
Yesterday I Had an Adventure
For the past couple of years I've been wanting to do something about the countertop I use in front of my video camera when cooking. I don't like the color. It's too yellow. It has also been used way too many times. There are dings and dents in the wood, along with a few chips I've tried to fill and blend into the color. I'm not happy with it.
Yesterday I decided to drive around town to some stores and businesses where I hoped to buy a piece of Formica or WilsonArt laminated panel. One place said they could order it and the cost would be about $150. A little steep, but reasonable.
I went to two kitchen countertop businesses. They do custom installations, mostly with products like DuPont Corian. I know how expensive that stuff is, but I brought the counter with me, hoping I might get a deal on scrap already in stock. I wanted something neutral, like a gray, not too dark.
I picked out one piece that I liked. "I'm sorry, I promised that to someone." I picked out another. "I promised that one too." Okay, what isn't promised? "Wait a minute," he said. "I might just have exactly what you're looking for." That's when the adventure really began.
Way up in the rafters at the back of the shop was a beautiful kitchen countertop. It was exactly the color I wanted — a medium gray granite look, like my kitchen countertops, also Corian.
Getting the counter down was an ordeal. There were boxes and scraps stored on top of it. Everything was coated in a thick layer of white dust from the shop. I helped where I could, as the dust literally rained down on me. In my hair, on my clothes, but I didn't care. I was enjoying the adventure.
The story went something like this: Almost ten years ago the shop prepared the counter for a custom installation. It was cut to fit and ready to install. The homeowner rejected it, claiming there were flaws. Lots of rigamarole, back and forth, even the DuPont representative got involved. No one but the homeowner could see any flaws. I looked at it too and I couldn't see anything wrong. It looks perfect. The homeowner probably felt some buyer's remorse and pretended there were flaws so that he wouldn't have to pay anything. Finally, it was decided to give a full refund and take the counter back. It was stored and forgotten, until yesterday.
"Name me a price," the shop owner said. I had no idea and I didn't want to insult him by offering too little. "Anything," he insisted. "I'd feel better if you gave me a price," I said. "Tell you what," he said. "Leave your counter with me and I'll cover it for you. It will be ready in two days. You can pay me what you think it's worth." I'm still agonizing over it. $50? $150? I know the counter is a total loss to him and he's already written it off. I doubt he ever thought he might sell it. But what is his labor worth? How many hours will he put into the project? It's sort of an installation, except I brought the counter to him. I'll know more tomorrow.
Whatever happens, I know I'm getting a great deal. A full Corian kitchen installation can cost thousands of dollars. Home Depot said they wouldn't cover my counter for me unless the job totaled at least $1,000. If I can get my counter back at a fraction of that cost I'll be happy.
Not a Guy Thing?
Of course, I can't speak for everyone, but I can speak for myself as a guy. It seems to me that decorating for Christmas is not a guy thing. I'm not being sexist. I know people who love, love, LOVE decorating for the holidays. They're women. I admire their husbands. One was sitting in the living room, reading the evening paper, as his wife quietly brought out one Halloween decoration in October. "And so it begins," he said. They enjoyed a good laugh together. Halloween, Thanksgiving, then Christmas. 'Tis the season for decorating the home, inside and out. Me? I put up my Christmas decoration already. A small plastic elf. That's it.
Just the one. He is about 4 inches tall and sits on the kitchen windowsill, rocking back and forth, driven by solar power, at least until I get tired of the clicking noise. Then I move him to a darker space where he'll be quiet.
I'm not a Scrooge about Christmas, but I live alone. There are no children nor grandchildren, no wife nor girlfriend, to appreciate the decorations. I feel as though I should do something because people ask me, "Are you decorating for Christmas?" Yep. Done already.
Sunday 2014.12.14
Stormy Weather
California is finally getting some much-needed rain. The latter half of this past week was fun to watch. Where I live in Southern California we didn't have the flood conditions experienced in the Bay Area and parts of Los Angeles. The most interesting television during the day was the Weather Channel. During the evening I listened to NOAA Weather Radio.
Thursday evening was downright noisy with wind. I walked around outside, where I felt safe (lest a tree or limb should fall), and listened to the tall eucalyptus trees across the street howling in the wind. It hadn't started raining yet. These are the kinds of nights in which I cannot sleep. Wind keeps me awake.
I kept a flashlight within reach and I prepared my oil lamp, just in case the electricity went off. It didn't, at least not where I live. Part of the area was without electricity for a while, but my power never went off. In the morning I checked the clocks. None were blinking, which would indicate they needed to be reset. I also walked around my home to look for signs of damage. I needed to sweep my porches and driveway, but nothing was damaged.
I also checked inside my outdoor storage shed. I knew the structure was sound. It is built stronger than my home. I was curious about leaking. There wasn't any sign of wetness on the floor. If that shed can make it through this level of storm without the roof leaking, I'll never need to check it again. The roof is good.
I thought a lot about my old shed as I lied awake in bed. There was almost nothing holding it up. Strong winds would have blown it down or, worse, blown it against someone's home, causing damage.
The shed that replaced it is extremely well built and anchored to a concrete slab. It would take quite an event to knock that shed down.
Here in California any rain is called a storm. Where I grew up in New England rain was simply rain. It rained every few days. A storm was something with potentially damaging wind and maybe the possibility of flooding. What drove through here Thursday evening was my idea of a storm. I went to bed a little after 10:00, but sleep was impossible. Most of you have probably never lived in a mobile home. The roof is sheet metal and noisy. During high winds the roof can sound as if someone is walking on it, maybe even jumping up and down.
Just before midnight the front of the storm arrived. That's when the winds were the worst. It started raining, heavily, and then the wind stopped. After a short time (it was a fast-moving front), the rain settled down to a steady patter and all was quiet. I fell asleep.
No trees were blown down where I live, but there was a report of trees down and minor flooding in other parts of the local area. The burn areas in Southern California suffered debris flows, inundating some homes with mud.
Another storm will arrive early this week, but it will be mild by comparison. All we want is more rain to fill our reservoirs. I can live without all that wind.
As usual, I looked at the "Rainfall and Reservoir Summary" report. We're well above average for the normal seasonal rainfall so far, currently 145%. There was only a tiny change to the amount of stored water, but at least it was positive. Both our reservoir and the one upstream of it recorded more than three inches of rain in 24 hours. When the reservoir upstream fills to capacity, all the overflow adds to our reservoir.
With the ground now saturated, the next storm should produce mostly runoff that will flow into the reservoirs. One season probably won't be enough to fill our reservoirs, but hopefully this is the beginning of a cycle of several wet winters that will restore our stored water back to full capacity again.
Okay, enough about the storm.
Bread Weather
Cold mornings are, for me, a good time to heat up my home by baking bread. Friday morning, after the rain, I baked two more loaves of bread. I bake bread almost every other week.
Wednesday 2014.12.10
Two Weeks to Christmas
I feel as though I received some Christmas presents already.
One of my neighbors with a barking dog (you can hear it in some of my videos) decided their dog is too much work, too much responsibility. So they found a new home for it, on a ranch here in Southern California, where it can run with other dogs and bark to its heart's content. That's a story with a happy ending. It will also make it easier for me to do cooking videos.
That's the third dog they've gotten and then gotten rid of. You'd think one would be enough. I suggested they get one of those battery operated dogs, the ones with the remote control. They're a little expensive, but they pay for themselves by saving money on dog food, licensing, and veterinarian fees.
I also am enjoying my new microwave oven. I love the size of the thing. For being not much larger outside, it is more than twice the size inside, compared to my old oven. Smaller electronics means they require less room, leaving more space for the oven capacity. And it might seem silly to those who have a microwave they purchased in the last 15 to 20 years, but I am delighted that I now have a turntable. My old oven didn't. I bought those Micro-Go-Round turntables — one every three to five years because they wear out.
For years I used my microwave oven almost on a daily basis to heat my Minute Meals. The new oven has more than twice the power; so it heats my meals in about half the time. I love the efficiency of the thing. Now it makes my Minute Meals even eazier.
I still have my original owner's manual (now in the recycling bin) and the Quasar cookbook that came with the oven nearly 30 years ago. That got me thinking. Should I try to adapt some of those old recipes for the new oven? I have made cakes in my old oven. It seems impossible, but they bake beautifully. By using milk rather than water, the cake is moist and tender. It really does work well. If I remember from the times I made cakes (when the oven was new) I needed to watch how the batter rose. When it reached a certain height I would turn off the power and let the cake settle down again. It would finish with a good texture, and with a flat top; so there is no need to trim. I think it's time to experiment again.
Christmas Cookies
One of my recipes that I love the most is of my mother's Italian Christmas Cookies. Part of the love is the humor of them. I always tell the same story. Mom didn't like buying butter. It was too expensive. So she used water instead. After several days the cookies became as hard and dry as old bones. The dog liked them. My brother and I still tell people we weren't allowed to throw them in the house, lest we break a window or lamp.
A few years ago I decided to correct the problem. I did a little research on the Internet and it became clear the only modification necessary was to use butter rather than water. I made a test batch. I stored some in a ziplock bag and the others were left out on the table. Days went by (as I resisted the temptation to nibble on them). After more than a week my cookies were still as soft and crumbly as when they were fresh, especially those that were sealed in the plastic bag. Now I make them every Christmas season and give them away to friends and neighbors. Even the mailman and the garbage collectors get some. I'm thinking of watching the video again. That will tell me whether or not to shoot a new video.
My brother's wife preferred Mom's butter pecan cookies. I do know Mom used butter in those cookies. (Maybe she learned the water trick from her mother, who lived through the Great Depression and ever since cut every corner that didn't have a high fence, economically speaking — although, when I look back on the crimes she committed, that isn't exactly true.)
I didn't like my mother's butter pecan cookies. The flavor wasn't quite right. Now I'm thinking the flavor might be improved if I roasted the pecans first. I don't like pecans because they're bitter, but roasting them removes the bitterness and gives them a delicious flavor. I think it's time to do some research. It might make a good video too.
And, finally, this next idea might seem a little odd, or maybe a little obsessive-compulsive, or maybe I'm just cheap.
Before throwing something into recycling or the trash, is there anything about it that can be re-purposed? I have a couple 12-foot extension cords, and one 50-foot. Sometimes I only need a short cord. I took the line cord off the old microwave oven, bought a receptacle connector for $5, and attached it, making sure the "hot" and "neutral" polarity was correct. I now have a short extension cord. I don't have a specific use for it yet, but that's only a matter of time. And it was a fun little project.
Sunday 2014.12.7
Old Videos and Older Recipes
Slightly more than four years ago I started this web site. It was August 2010. Prior to that I had been urged many times by friends and associates to write a cookbook. Cookbooks are common and ubiquitous. They're everywhere. You can get mine for free by clicking the image on the Home Page.
During the holiday season at the end of each year Costco gives away free cookbooks. All the recipes, of course, feature Costco products, either their Kirkland Signature brand or brands they stock all the time. I have dozens of cookbooks on my bookshelf. I try not to buy more unless I find something I cannot live without. I also have more than 300 cookbooks in digital format (EPUB) on a CD in my office. Really, cookbooks are almost as common as the air we breathe.
I wanted to do something different. I wanted step-by-step photographs. I was also planning my retirement and wanted an occupation, like a hobby, to keep me busy after I left my job. I therefore came up with this web site. It happened to coincide with a friend moving into town with a video camera. Cooking videos were a natural progression.
To make a long story short: I put my videos on YouTube, hoping to drive more traffic to this web site. It turned out most people would rather watch someone cook than read a recipe, even if it has lots of pictures. Google bought YouTube and little by little Google became more and more obnoxious. When they insisted on having my personal telephone number before authorizing my uploads, I stopped uploading.
I moved to Curious.com. Unlike Google, Curious pays. I've already received one generous payment, far more than I ever received through donations. And that is how I arrived at this point.
The plan was to move many of my videos to Curious. However, some of those videos are, well, simply awful. Four years ago I didn't know what I was doing. We had solved problems with lighting and audio. I built a counter so that I could face the camera (rather than my friend trying to video over my shoulder or from the side). But it would take many videos to finally learn how to be a better teacher in front of a camera. Even my food photography back then was awful.
This week I did Smoked Salmon Ravioli. It hasn't been featured yet, and probably won't be for many weeks. The recipe, however, is already on this web site because working with Curious is different than Google. With YouTube I could upload a video and it would be available immediately. On Curious I upload a video and create a lesson with it, then I wait for them to review it and certify it. That can take two weeks. Meanwhile, everything needs to be ready, including a recipe here, for when the video goes live.
And this leads to the whole point of my blog today. Four years ago I thought I was a pretty good cook. I could make a few things that were delicious enough to impress my friends, but I had only about a dozen of those recipes. Needing to constantly add recipes to this web site — there are now more than 200 recipes in the Archive — forced me to expand my horizons. In the process, I've learned to be an even better cook. I now know to make a velouté sauce and add caramelized onions and sautéed mushrooms.
And that reminds me that I ordered another ravioli form this week. It makes smaller ravioli than my other one. I'd really like to expand my horizons more into ravioli. I've done Chicken and Pesto Ravioli and the Smoked Salmon Ravioli mentioned above. I'm thinking of using the new form to make Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli next. That one isn't in the Archive yet, of course.
Don't Try This With the Kids Watching
Yesterday evening my microwave oven died. Fortunately, it was at the end of heating my dinner. Everything was black — no bulb, no clock. I knew I couldn't make it worse by removing the cover. I found the fuse and tested it with a voltmeter, using a good battery in series with the fuse. No voltage through the fuse. Then, and this is the part you really, really, really want to be careful about, I pushed a screwdriver through the leads that hold the fuse and plugged in the oven (standing back, lest something explode or burst into flames).
The clock started blinking, indicating I need to set the time. I opened the door and the light came on. I unplugged the microwave and removed the screwdriver. So, it's just a simple and inexpensive fuse (I think). Home Depot has the fuses. Did you know there are fuses specifically for microwave ovens? I didn't.
Why did the fuse blow? I had been using the microwave a lot with very wet food. There was condensation inside. Did a drop of water fall across a circuit somewhere? Maybe something really important failed and the fuse blew to prevent a fire. There's only one way to find out. I installed the new fuse, put the cover back on, placed a cup of water in the oven and cranked it up to full power. BZZZZZZZZZZZ and it blew another fuse. Okay, I got the message.
It's an old 1985 Quasar 600 watt 1.0 cubic foot oven. I used it for nearly 30 years. I got my money's worth out of it. New ones are larger, have twice the wattage, and are equipped with turntables (something my oven does not have) and better features. I did a little exploring on the Internet and read a few reviews. I chose a 2.2 cubic foot, 1250 watt, Panasonic Genius Prestige at Best Buy (the Panasonic ovens at Costco were too small).
Naturally, I had to test it. What could be a better test than one of my frozen Minute Meals? Wow, it's fast! And here's something I learned from an appliance repairman: Modern appliances have computers in them. You have your personal computer(s) on a surge protector, right? Protect your appliances as well. I use good surge protectors for the appliances in my kitchen.
Wednesday 2014.12.3
Playing on Pinterest
I like having fun. If old age is the second childhood, I understand why. I'm playing like a child again. I'm not bouncing a ball down the stairs and laughing (like the child of a family with whom I once lived); I'm playing in a more grown-up way. I'm playing with cooking and food photography. I'm playing with my computers. And this week I'm playing on Pinterest.
This past weekend I uploaded eight videos to Curious.com and edited them into lessons. As a "teacher" on Curious, I have access to the Lesson Builder. It's simple to use. Upload a video, decide where the break points will be (the video is split into short segments, each a step in the lesson), add exercises, attachments, cover thumbnail photo, and Pinterest pin image. After writing the long and short explanations of the lesson, publish it.
If I do all the advance preparation of the video in my encoding software, building the lesson takes less than half an hour. The same is true with the photos. I do all the post-production work on the computer and then assembled all my resources before I open the Lesson Builder in Curious. Then it's a simple process of selecting and uploading.
This week I'm doing a lot of Pinterest stuff. Like most things in life, there is a learning curve.
If I might digress a moment, I still remember the learning curve of riding a bicycle. My twin brother and I received new bicycles for our birthday, which is at the end of July, a good time of year in New England (better than Christmas) for learning to ride a bike outdoors. We were in the neighbor's driveway. My father stood behind me, straddling the rear wheel, while I was placed and steadied on the seat. With a gentle push I was in motion, the sound of "Peddle, peddle" coming from behind me. I peddled. I steered. It was glorious fun. As I turned and peddled back along the driveway toward the adults, I called out, "How do I stop?"
It took a while, but after my brain cogitated over the situation for a few weeks, I determined that that best starting aspect ratio for Pinterest pins is 2,000 pixels wide and 2,200 pixels tall. That might seem like a lot. It's only a starting place. I need that size because I copy and paste the image of my little camper trailer into each pin and then add some text. When all the assembly is done, I downsize the pin to 600 pixels in width and let the height take care of itself. It works.
As for pin board cover images, so far I'm finding 600 wide by 425 tall to be best.
At first I wasn't sure if I wanted the little camper logo and words in my pictures. However, Curious.com's best practices guidelines recommend this style of pin. In fact, in their own lesson that teaches how to design lesson pins they used one of my images as an example of an excellent pin. Furthermore, my Pinterest account is a business account, not a personal, vanity account. Advertising my web site is expected. And so I settled on a style of pin and board cover.
I like the idea of the food slightly covering the title of the boad. It's done with layers in Photoshop.
A Little More About Plumbing
Last month I blogged about my home's old galvanized pipe being replaced with all new copper pipe. That is a decision I will never regret. The increase in water pressure has been phenomenal. Although my sinks were equipped with water savers, they weren't really necessary. The old pipes were so clogged with rust and debris, they were very efficient water savers.
For those who might be unfamiliar: Water savers are little devices that attach to the end of the faucet. They're just like the aerators on many faucets, but they have a small opening to restrict the amount of water flowing out of the faucet, thus saving water. It is no secret that here in California we are in a severe drought situation. The last time I looked, the water in our local reservoir was only about 28% capacity.
The one place where the increased water pressure is most notable is in the shower. It blasts water. This week I installed a water saver on the shower pipe. Fully open, the water coming out of the shower is about the same as it was before the copper pipe was installed.
And, Finally, Some Weather
It has been raining here. Yesterday it rained all day, more than three inches on the nearby mountain pass. Where I live we received about 2¾ inches from the latest storm. One of the joys I looked forward to in retirement was being home, snug and dry, while watching it rain outside. Yesterday all the drapes were wide open. With a cup of hot coffee in hand, I stared out the window whenever I wanted a little break from these computers.